Regaining trust in the social market Analysis of unique comparative polling conducted by YouGov for Policy Network Fieldwork was undertaken March Total sample size for the online survey was 1063 British, 1086 US, 1010 Swedish and 1184 German adults. Full poll available at Roger Liddle Chair of Policy Network

A social democratic opportunity squandered? From private “credit crunch” to public debts and deficits crisis Loss of economic competence No radical agenda to reform the financial services sector? The Third Way benign marriage of economic efficiency and social justice in question

Voters still pro-market… Voters value competition in the market because it keeps prices down and provides consumers with a wide choice of goods and services Competition is cited by voters as the primary advantage of a market economy in the UK (50%), the US (45%), Sweden (52%), while in Germany it is also very important to voters (45%) The wide choice of goods and services that the market economy provides is highly valued by 44% of voters in the UK, US and Sweden, and 53% in Germany

… but people’s faith in the market to deliver social goods – principally jobs and shared wealth – is at a low ebb Its the harsh impact on vulnerable individuals, cited by 41% in Sweden, 29% in the UK and Germany, and 20% in the US as a major disadvantage of the market economy Low “positive effects” on jobs and opportunities - while in the US 35% highlight the contribution the market makes to employment prospects, under a quarter emphasise this as an advantage in Sweden (24%) and the UK (21%), and only 15% in Germany

Pro-business attitudes in question… The dominance and profit-seeking practices of large (chiefly multinational) corporations cause apprehension: –Common perception among centre-left voters, including a notable 30-point divergence between Democrat and Republican voters in the US –Large corporations squeezing out small firms is seen in Germany, the UK, US and Sweden and by voters of all parties as a principal disadvantage of the market economy

… but are sceptical of the state’s capacity to stand up to vested interests People’s estimation of government’s ability to stand up to vested interests range from a mere 15% in the US, 16% in the UK, 21% in Germany to a more respectable but still worrying 27% in Sweden, when asked to compare the different strengths of state action Voters worry that the state is hijacked by vested interests is a matter of utmost concern to voters, especially in Germany (48%), the US (47%) and the UK (38%), but Swedes are less pessimistic (17%).

Regaining trust in the social market Voters do not regard the state as powerless in the face of increasingly globalised markets – even in the US only 8% express this view Belief in the “transformative capacity” of the state holds true in Germany (55%), the UK (53%) and the US and Sweden (both 44%) Is building a new politics of the public interest the basis of a new social democratic narrative?